Experts Review SURVIVAL STRONG

BOOK REVIEW (by John Borter)

Survival Strong- A Guide to Street Survival and Strength

Author: Phil Ross

When I picked up a copy of “Survival Strong- A guide to Street Survival and Strength”, I didn’t really know what to expect. Well, that’s not completely true. I did know what to expect; another fitness junkie and exercise guru who wanted to jump on the MMA bandwagon and use the momentum and popularity of cage fighting and cardio kickboxing loosely disguised as “self-defense” to make a fast buck off of the testosterone driven “brah” crowd and the gym rats. I did NOT get what I expected.

What I actually got was a complete and comprehensive text that professionally and completely covers pretty much every area of fitness and self-defense, how they relate to each other, and why it is so vital to take a complete approach to self-protection.

Phil Ross is obviously an expert in this subject matter. As a lifelong athlete, physical trainer, fighter, and martial artist, he is uniquely qualified to explain and teach the many levels of interaction and complexity that come with this subject. As the jacket states, “Survival Strong is a culmination of many years spent training, fighting, protecting, and teaching from the perspective of a person that has lived through the experiences.” And in reading this book, you can see that this is an amazingly accurate statement.

This book effectively covers the entire gambit of self-defense and survival training; from the undeniable truths of violence and self-protection, real world applications, mindset, training drills, and using both conventional and unconventional weapons, to modern day scenarios such as car-jackings, home invasions, mass hysteria, and even dog attacks.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. This is not a book that simply touches on or glosses over a host of different subjects to give the reader the false impression of both the value of the material and the expertise of the author. This book goes deep into the details, tactics, and strategies in dealing with real-world self-defense in the real-world we live in.

As a self-defense instructor and advocate, I tend to focus on the “self-defense” portion of the book, but I would be amiss is I did not mention the physical training and exercise in the book (hence the name “Survival Strong”). Phil not only covers a plethora of physical exercises for strength training, endurance, and flexibility, but also explains and verifies why this type of training is not only valuable but vital to self-defense training and real-world preparation.

This book is a gem for anyone looking to get in top physical shape, learn functional and practical self-defense, and prepare and develop the right mindset for survival. It holds a place of esteem in my personal library. Get this book. You won’t be disappointed.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED